Tuesday Dharma Tea at 2PM for July 11, 2023 led by Betty Mooney on the topic of the “Alexander Technique and how it can support Zen practice” . Online only Use this link to join and if asked for password use 842721
Betty’s bio here
After majoring in dance at the University of Michigan and simultaneously obtaining a degree in Massage Therapy I proceeded to dance professionally and open my own massage practice. After several years I found myself suffering from back pain from giving massages and it was recommended to me that I study the Alexander Technique. I was very fortunate to study in Lincoln, Nebraska under Majorie Barstow who was trained by Alexander in England and was one of the first teachers in America. After several years of study and having resolved my back problems I began teaching the Alexander Technique at my dance studio in Charlottesville, VA. My meditation practice began with Thich Nhat Hahn at his monastery Deer Park and I attended several week long retreats when he would come to the United States to teach. I have continued my meditation practice with several teachers since the 1980’s: Tara Brach, Anam Thubten, Jon Kabat-Zinn, and currently Norman Fischer.
I presently have a private practice and teach meditation and resiliency retreats for the Compassionate Care Initiative at the University of Virginia Nursing School. Both the weekly sessions and the retreats have a mindful movement component based on the Alexander Technique.
I’ve always felt that because of my Alexander training the idea of being embodied in meditation practice was second nature for me and I found many overlapping concepts; concentration of the mind, awareness of the body and the practice of restraint or pausing to think in an embodied way before acting.